Christian Kaleta holds a rhinoceros iguana as Vinicio Olivieri, & his grandfather, Rudy Gaitan get a look at the reptile during the Reptile Super Show at the San Diego Concourse.
— Howard Lipin / U-T San Diego

One couple in the back of the line, Will and Bernice Marshall, had driven down from Aguanga in Riverside County. “I have some leopard geckos and am thinking about getting into breeding soon,” Will said. “I took some vacation time to come here.”

Does Bernice share his enthusiasm for reptiles? “I’m getting there,” she said.

“As long as it has legs she’s OK with it,” Will said.

“I don’t like snakes,” Bernice added.

She wasn’t going to like what was inside, where thousands of snakes, going for $20 to $20,000, were on display. A baby Colombian ghost rainbow boa constrictor had a $2,800 price tag.

The snakes and lizards were outnumbered only by the crowds, which were elbow to elbow all morning long, and by the poor mice, crickets and other insects being offered for sale as food for the scaly pets.

John Dillon of Bonita had just bought a box containing 200 live crickets to feed his geckos. The supply will last only about a week, he said.

Two of those in attendance were North Park residents Rachel Krentzman and her 7-year-old son Noam, who really, really wants a lizard as a pet. Mom wasn’t quite so sure. A vegetarian, she said she didn’t want a pet that would require the purchase of rats and cockroaches for it to munch on.

“Bearded dragons eat lettuce,” Noam chimed in.

“Yes,” his mother said with a slight roll of her eyes. “Bearded dragons eat lettuce and crickets so we could handle that.”

Promoter Guirgis said he runs four shows a year in San Diego and Pomona.

He claims the Super Show is the largest in the world.

“We have international vendors who come all the way from Japan, Germany, Canada and all over the United States,” he said.

“This is pretty much where all the reptile keepers in the whole world meet up. It’s pretty much the equivalent of the Comic-Con of reptiles.

“We are a unique crowd of people and we all have a passion for these reptiles. We all love to meet up and talk about them, learn about them, to see new things and new products.”

California law prohibits any poisonous snakes from the shows, and customers are not allowed to bring their own pets.

The show continues Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Golden Hall, 202 C St. Tickets are $14 for adults and $9 for kids 12 and under.